The PAP has long held the position that draconian law ensures a stable and thus prosperous society. But if that prosperity fails to materialise, what purpose do those draconian laws serve? In part two of this two-part Southeast Asia Dispatches episode, we talk to Kokila Annamalai from the Transformative Justice Collective and PJ Thum from New Narat…

To suppress speech and dissent regarding the cruelty of capital punishment, the Singaporean government has issued POFMAs on activists who dared to challenge their harsh authority. How do you make sure your voice is heard under such stringent measures then? In part one of a two-part Southeast Asia Dispatches episode, we talk to Kokila Annamalai from…

The Social Media Licensing Framework is one of the ways that the Malaysian government is trying to control online interactions of its citizens. However, where did this licensing framework emerge from? In this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, we talk to Khairil Yusof from the Sinar Project about the lessons we can learn from past actions of civ…

In its early days, many looked to the internet as a tool for people from around the world to connect and share ideas freely. But the last few decades have shown that authoritarian governments the world over see the internet as a challenge to their power and have taken steps to limit the ways people can share their thoughts and organise. This is the…

In his efforts to platform the struggles of Masyarakat Bajau Laut in Sabah, Mukmin Nantang was detained and his home and workplace harassed. All of this was done under the Sedition Act. What is the Sedition Act and what can we learn from Mukmin’s advocacy and fighting the charges against him. Borneo Komrad's Website: https://www.borneokomrad.net/te…

Today we want to discuss a very particular kind of censorship. It’s a subtle kind of censorship, it materialises in behind the scenes, in everyday interactions between coworkers and editors. To some it won’t even be apparent that censorship is going on. Today I want to find out if media work has a masculinity problem, and just how deep does it run.…

What does it mean to be invisible? Do you need to be completely hidden, or is it simply lacking a voice, or maybe having an uninterested audience? And once you’re hidden, how do you bridge that gap to be seen again? In this episode we talk with Journalist S. Noina Supratya and examine how a legacy of Thai centrality erases the news from local and r…

This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity.This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity. In this episode with Fatia Muliyadiyanti and Haris Azhar we discuss their court victory following their…

Transparency and accountability and historical awareness are some of the most important pillars of democracy. Historical revisionism is an affront to that democracy. And enforced disappearances, where the police or military or paramilitary forces knock on your door and kidnap you, has always been the bedrock of such revisionism. In this episode wit…

In this episode, Wai Liang Tham (New Naratif's Researcher) and Avon Ang (Altermidya's National Coordinator) will talk about the 2nd and the 3rd publication of New Naratif’s Media Freedom Insights series titled “Engendering Media Freedom”, the role of Altermidya, and what to expect from New Naratif’s 4th MFI publication. You can also find this podca…

In this episode, Oktaria Asmarani (New Naratif's Researcher) and Thilaga Sulathireh (Justice for Sisters) will talk about the systemic and structural issues that hinder the practice of inclusive democracy in Southeast Asia, the cases in Malaysia, the role of research, and the importance of regional solidarity. You can also find this podcast on our …

This is a special edition of the podcast, the fourth of six episodes in the Pegasus series that New Naratif are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at kbrprime.id. At a time when the use of spyware is becoming increasingly normalised and the…

This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity. It is also part of our Pegasus Series, a series of podcasts, comics, articles, and other conversations on the Israeli spyware Pegasus and its unlawful applications in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia. We hope that this…

This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the third of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at ⁠⁠KBRPrime.id⁠⁠. In our previous two episodes of Pegasus Series, we discovered tha…

We’ve covered the political situation in Thailand before in this podcast – a constant struggle between pro-democracy factions and former royalist powers. Although there are members of the press on both sides, the idea and maintenance of press freedom itself remains a challenge, especially since the 2014 military coup. In this episode, we're talking…

The Citizens’ Agenda is a space for citizens to express their concerns and increase their political participation. In general, it is a survey aimed at creating a space for citizens to express their concerns and increase their political participation. Your concerns will then be used to guide our democracy classes and media coverage to create pathway…

In February 2023, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closure of one of the country's last independent local news outlets, Voice of Democracy (VOD), saying it had attacked him and his son and caused damage to the country. VOD is one of the few independent and vital media outlets left in Cambodia since the media crackdown circa 2017-2018. S…

In July 2022, Jasmin Rubia, Kenneth Rementilla, and Hailey Pecayo took part in a fact-finding mission to look into the alleged murder of Kylene Casao, a 9-year-old girl, and Maximino Digno, a 50-year-old farmer, by members of the 59th Infantry Battalion on July 18 in Taysan, Batangas. Later, the military stated that people who took part in the fact…

Based on April 2023 figures from the Home Ministry, a total of 1,030 children, 43% of whom are girls, are currently being held in 19 immigration detention centres across Malaysia. Two-thirds of these are unaccompanied and separated children. There are alternatives to detention that ensures proper administration of migration in kinder, more successf…

This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the first of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at ⁠KBRPrime.id⁠. Pegasus Spyware has been used in over 24 countries throughout the w…

This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the first of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at KBRPrime.id. In 2022, iLaw, Digital Reach, and The Citizen Lab discovered a large-…

Thailand’s political situation has been rather tumultuous for a while. What began as pro-democracy marches by students in February 2020 expanded into endless protests against the pro-military administration, and has become the first time in modern Thai history that the monarchy has been discussed openly in a critical manner, despite the fact that d…

This episode is based on their short comic trilogy called “The Rites of Passage: A Tale of Queer Migration” by Asmara S. Wigati. In this episode, Asmara and Bonni discusses the trilogy, Asmara’s journey, and how we can build better connections and collective care for queer people in Indonesia. You can check the trilogy through the link below: 1. Se…

In general, the national media in Indonesia either ignores LGBTQ+ issues or does not cover them at all. Otherwise, when they publish such content, they are blatantly reflecting hate and discrimination through the language, choice of sources, and use of news frames. In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Widia Primastika will talk about the queerpho…

In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and PJ Thum will be talking about New Naratif’s upcoming Principles of Democracy project and what it takes to build a democracy. In the upcoming months, we’ll be publishing a series of articles on principles of democracy, illustrated through concrete examples from Southeast Asia, showing how Southeast Asians defin…

The start of the new decade in 2020 was devastating and demoralising for many Malaysians. Millions of Malaysians' quality of life has been drastically lowered by the pandemic, political and economic crisis, and flood. The present social protection system in Malaysia has been stretched to its breaking point by the extraordinary scope and severity of…

On May 18th, we released an episode talking about Indonesia’s new Health Bill that is currently being proposed. The Indonesian government has been criticised for their hasty process and lack of access to information for the public. It’s problematic, to say the least, and while some activists are seeing opportunities for reform in this Bill, its pot…

Through their initiatives, FundLife, a purpose-driven not for profit organisation in the Philippines, is committed to improving this situation. They aim to establish educational and employment pathways for Philippines underprivileged youth so that they can achieve their full potential. In this episode we will be talking about how the most marginali…

Earlier this month, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the government continued the legislative process of the Health Bill.The rapidity with which the government and the House of Representatives drafted the Health Bill has drawn criticism, as has the public's lack of access to information In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan will ta…

In Peninsular Malaysia there are over one hundred and eighty thousand refugees. Regardless of origin or identity, they all run into the same core problem of legal recognition. Malaysian authorities treat refugees as illegal, as there are no laws relating to their status. How do you expect to have a democracy when there are that many people not bein…

In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Thet Wai talks about Myanmar's New Feminist Narrative and Wai's experiences as a feminist activist in Myanmar. Thet Wai is a gender rights researcher at New Naratif currently leading our Democratic Participation research. She has spent more than ten years working with different marginalised groups in Myanmar f…

The episode will be presented to you by Levi Masuli, who will be telling the story of former migrants turned riverside vegetable farmers in Santa Ana of the Rizal Province, Philippines. Levi Masuli is a sound artist and community organiser for Migrante Philippines, whose community work focuses on strengthening local migrants' formations, providing …

One of the key pillars of democracy is the ability to freely criticise those in power. But as we all know, such is rarely the case in Southeast Asia. Whenever journalists criticise any police-related issues, it is no secret that they need to be extremely careful. Over the last five years, the police have been a major perpetrator in violence against…

With an increasingly hostile atmosphere towards media workers in Southeast Asia, New Naratif’s Media Freedom Insights publications try to better understand their life experiences. New Naratif’s current Media Freedom Insights series, titled “Engendering Media Freedom,” aims to showcase the gendered experiences of journalists in the region to underst…

Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Damar Juniarto, Executive Director of SAFEnet, about digital rights and digital security, the increasing judicial harassment of expression in the digital space in Southeast Asia, how various countries try to emulate China's Great Firewall to conduct surveillance and censorship of its people, and how can the people of Sout…

It is important for any coalition of democratic allies to play both defensive and offensive roles, promoting resilience to authoritarian digital threats while building an affirmative alternative that diminishes the influence of authoritarian actors over time. In New Naratif, the Media Freedom Network (MFN) is our response to these challenges as we …

In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Arturo Golong, or Arthur, a trans woman who was also Haiyan’s survivor, and Mavic Conde, a Filipino environmental journalist, about how things are going right now regarding Haiyan’s survivors, the story behind discriminatory laws in Philippines, the Yolanda Permanent Housing Program, and SOGIESC Equality …

Previously, Teo S. Marasigan, Filipino activist and New Naratif's researcher, published research series on OFWs titled "The Philippines’ Dangerous Dependence on the Exploitation of its People" and "Agency Amidst Structures in Migration: Stories of Filipina Domestic Workers in Dubai". In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to to Teo S. Marasigan a…

In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks with Evi Mariani, one of the co-founders of Project Multatuli, a collective initiative dedicated to carrying out the ideals of public journalism by giving a voice to the voiceless, spotlighting the marginalised, and reporting on the underreported, whose work involves collaboration with other news organisatio…

On this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks about New Naratif’s Research Department and the idea of research as activism with Lengga Pradipta, Migration Researcher at New Naratif. Migration research is an evergreen field of study that has only grown in its breadth of topics and range of micro-disciplines. In line with our approach of research as activ…

On this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks about trans liberation in Southeast Asia with Erik Nadir and Nhuun Yodmuang from Asia Pacific Transgender Network, also known as APTN, a trans-led organisation that engages with a range of partners across Asia and the Pacific to support, organise, and advocate for fundamental human rights including gender id…

Roy Ngerng was just a blogger writing on Singapore using publicly available information when, in 2015, he was sued by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation. The court found him guilty and he was ordered to pay SG$215,000 in damages and costs. His life destroyed, he eventually left Singapore for Taiwan. He talks to PJ Thum about th…

PJ Thum talks to Irie and Muhammad, two founders of Quasa, a peer support and community network for queer Muslims in Singapore. They talk about Quasa, what it does, why it’s needed, and what they want to achieve. They also discuss the lives of Queer Muslims, what they want, their relationship to their faith, the challenges the face, and the banalit…

New Naratif held a contest inviting people to tell us who they thought the next Prime Minister of Singapore should be, and why. The winner, with 57 votes, was Yeo Kian Hwee, who (presciently) picked Lawrence Wong. He speaks to PJ Thum about his thoughts on the succession and a Lawrence Wong premiership. As Yeo was born in Malaysia, they also have a…

Dr Chee Soon Juan is the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and one of the most respected and feared opposition leaders in Singapore, so it was a little inexplicable when he decided to start up a restaurant, "Orange & Teal". Singapore's food & beverage industry is notoriously difficult and competitive, and on top of this he s…

New Naratif invited people to tell us who they thought the next Prime Minister of Singapore should be, and why. PJ Thum interviews the four finalists: Roderick Foo, for Louis Ng; Joel Wong, for Prof Teo You Yenn; Yeo Kian Hwee, for Lawrence Wong; Steven Yeong, for Teo Chee Hean. Read their written arguments and vote for who you think made the best …

Content warning: This podcast includes references to sexual assault. On this week’s episode, Jacob Goldberg speaks to Peter Murphy, chairman of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, also known as ICHRP. ICHRP is a network of organisations in the Philippines and in diaspora communities around the world working to inform th…

Ahead of the publication of the revised and updated edition of her memoirs, legendary Singaporean civil society activist Constance Singam sits down with PJ Thum to talk about her long career in activism. They talk about the "AWARE Saga", when it was taken over by a group of fundamentalist Christians, which she was a direct participant in as the the…

Leong Mun Wai is a Non-constituency Member of Parliament for the Progress Singapore Party and the CEO of private equity firm, Timbre Capital. He explains to PJ Thum about Singapore's financial reserves, where it comes from, and how it is spent. They talk about the need for more transparency and accountability over how it is spent, and the inherentl…

On this week's episode, Jacob Goldberg speaks to Professor Jose Maria Sison, who goes by the nickname Joma. Joma is the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which has been waging a revolutionary guerilla war against the Philippine government since 1968. He is a controversial figure to many and a beloved comrade to othe…